Winning the war at home
submitted by Lindy

From the desk of:
Newt Gingrich,
American Solutions
Dear Charles:

There is a war here at home, and it is even more deadly than the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Far more Americans are being killed by violent, evil people here in America than in our official military "combat zones" overseas. In 2004 alone, there were over 14,000 murders in the United States.

We have much to do to reverse these horrible statistics.

The truth is, all too many Americans are being killed. But what is so completely senseless is to tolerate the killing of Americans by people who are in the United States illegally and who have previously been arrested for a felony.

Did you know that one of the suspected murderers of three young African-American college bound students in Newark, New Jersey, two weeks ago was in the United States illegally?

Did you know that this wasn't his first vicious crime -- that he was indicted last month for raping a five-year-old girl repeatedly and threatening to kill her family?

And that ten months ago, he was charged with assaulting patrons in a bar?

It is intolerable that the lives of three young, achieving students were cut brutally short by someone who not only should not have been in the United States in the first place, but who should have been in jail awaiting trial, sentencing, prison and eventual deportation!

One step we can take now to stop this war here at home is to require local governments to determine if an arrested felon is here illegally and if so to detain any such felon until they can be tried, sentenced, imprisoned, and eventually deported.

As a father and a grandfather, I am outraged our government failed to protect these four promising young people in Newark (one victim survived the shooting). And as an American, I am sickened that the political leadership of America continues their August vacations and does nothing to prevent such avoidable killings from taking place again.

The president should call Congress back into emergency session for three days to pass a single, decisive bill that would end "sanctuary" cities and establish a system for identifying the immigration status of felons who are here illegally and detaining them so they cannot commit more crimes. Current prisoners will be screened to identify if they are in the United States illegally; if they are, they will be turned over to federal authorities for deportation.

This failure to take sensible measures to protect Americans shows how our government isn't working right now. No matter how painful, big or urgent the problem our nation is facing, we are trapped in politics and partisan wrangling as usual. That's why we are losing the war at home.

Charles, government isn't working. That's the reason we have over 12 million people living here illegally.

But we can make things better...if we insist on it, and work for it!

I'd love to include you on the team of people who want to think and hear about ways we transform our government and move our country forward.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Your friend, Newt